Our thoughts and prayers are with the family of Karen Douglas, a Newton North High School senior who tragically took her own life in early October. When this happens in our community, all of us are affected. Our clergy, educators and staff are here to provide support for all of our students and families, especially our teens. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you are in need of pastoral and personal support. We have compiled a variety of resources surrounding suicide prevention and awareness, as well as a link to Adolescent Wellness, which provides a wonderful program iGrow (Interfaith Gathering ‘Round our Wellness”), in which several of our teens are involved. We hope you will refer to them and share your thoughts with us.

To say that I've heard the statement, "The High Holy Days are really early this year" just a few times throughout this summer would be an understatement. It's true. While many of us are wondering where the summer went, I'm still unpacking (both mentally and physically) from visiting our happy campers at the many wonderful Jewish overnight camps we are blessed to have throughout our region. Our team at TBE has been quite busy this summer planning for what promises to be an exciting year, filled with new and innovative programming, welcoming new members to our Clergy and Learning Teams and all of the wonderful intangibles that add to the kehilah kedoshah (holy community) that is Temple Beth Elohim.

Our tradition reminds us that these days leading up to Rosh Hashanah are an opportunity to prepare. We do not only prepare our building for services or our calendar for a full year of programming ahead - but we strive to prepare spiritually and personally, as well. The challenge, through all of the scheduling, carpooling, working and back-to-routineing that fills this time of year, is to find your own time for reflection and renewal. Ha! While that may sound like a joke, it's actually a quite serious and important concept. At some point, we all need to hit the pause button, take a deep breath, look around us and re-calibrate our priorities and actions to line up with our values and what's important to us as we begin the new year. So...a challenge. To myself, and to you. As we enter Shabbat, hit that pause button. Be thankful to all of the wonderful things that have been going on this summer, and look forward to many more in the coming months. But reach a little further back. Think about the past year - the good stuff, and the challenges. How can we do better in the coming year? How can we make it more fulfilling? How can we improve ourselves and our interactions with others? How are we spending our time? Where can we make a few slight adjustments to ensure we're engaging in meaningful things and spending time with those individuals and communities in our lives that challenge us be the best version of ourselves?

As for me? I'm starting my reflection process in the best way I possibly can. I'm spending Shabbat with 14 of our BELY/Havayah teens, along with 120 other Jewish teens from around the region, at NFTY Northeast Summer Institute at URJ Crane Lake Camp. During the days, I'm going to be teaching, eating, praying, learning, singing and playing. And at night, I'm going to think, read and write. Not such a bad way to wind down my summer and begin my personal reflection process. I'll be sure to post a few photos on our Facebook page!

Tonight was a wonderful opportunity for our Havayah teens to gather and connect as a community one last time at TBE before they head off to their summer adventures! With lots of laughter, stories...and of course some ice cream, we closed out another incredible year in Havayah!

Over the past few months, members of our teen and staff leadership have engaged in a thoughtful process to engage and plan for the next chapter of BELY and Havayah leadership. We are excited to announce the 2013-2014 BELY Board:

*Committees are still being formed. Please contact Stephen Brickman, Elena Soyer, or Dana Miller if you are interested in joining a committee. In addition, there are multiple ways to get involved in our community. A summary of opportunities is included in the leadership packet (see link below), and more information will be available when Havayah registration goes live in a few weeks. Contact Stephen Brickman or Laura Hyman to learn more!

As was stated in the letter included in the BELY & Havayah Leadership Nomination Packet: If you are interested in applying for a position, you should write a letter of intent (who you are, why you want to be on board, and the top two positions you think you would be most effective at). This letter is to be submitted via email to the BELY Advisor (Sbrickman@tbewellesley.org) by Thursday, May 10 at 5:00 P.M.Any letters received after that deadline will not be considered. In addition, you must submit a completed BELY Leadership Application and BELY Board Brit (enclosed in this packet) in order to be considered. These documents can be emailed or mailed (to the attention of Stephen Brickman) – but must be received by the deadline. Please note that there will be no extensions or exceptions, and we are unable to receive faxes.

The BELY Nominating Committee (comprised of BELY Board Seniors, the BELY President(s) and the BELY Advisor) will then convene and review all submitted letters of intent. They will announce their recommendation of next year’s board and committee structure to the public on Monday, May 14, 2012 by 10:00 P.M. You can view the recommendations online (http://www.tbeyouth.org).

Anyone who is not included in the nominating committee’s recommendation and would like to hold a position on the BELY Board must submit their name and the position for which they intend to run to the BELY Advisor by Thursday, May 17, 2012 at 5:00 P.M. Again, please note that there will be no extensions or exceptions.

If you have any questions regarding the BELY Nomination Process, please contact Stephen Brickman, Elena Soyer, or Dana Miller. Otherwise, we look forward to being in touch during the next week with an update on this process (which you will be able to find on this page). L'Shalom,

BELY Shabbat Sermon Friday, March 9, 2012 | 15 Adar 5772 | Parashat Ki Tisa Ellie Benjamin, Membership Representative Stephanie Seiden, NFTY Northeast RepresentativeShabbat Shalom. As members of Temple Beth Elohim, we can see every day what the Israelites learn in Parashat Ki Tisa, this week’s Torah Portion, which includes the story of the golden calf. In this Parasha the Israelites, traveling with Moses through the wilderness, are asked to each individually contribute a half shekel to the building of the Sanctuary. While Moses is on Mount Sinai receiving the instructionsand commandments to build the Tabernacle, the Israelites become impatient. We can understand that the contribution of their shekels seems useless as they await his return. By the time Moses descends the mountain, he discovers the Israelites worshipping a golden calf. Moses recognizes that the Israelites had awaited his return, leader-less, and the idol’s existence had united them. He smashes the first set of tablets. However, it is not until the Israelites receive the second set of Tablets that God further elaborates on the reasons not to worship other gods. God condemns idolatry primarily because the Israelites had built a community based on an inanimate object rather than a moral goal. Conversely, at TBE, our community is based on a moral goal BECAUSE we strive to study Jewish text, do acts of loving kindness, Tikkun Olam, and draw a unique connection between ourselves and G-d and the State of Israel.

Creating a holy community does not have to do with idolatry, or boredom, or loneliness in itself. The creation of a holy community comes from a group of people sharing a common interest. We work together in creating a better world for each other and for new generations. Every member of TBE plays a role in the ever-increasing holiness of our community. This means clergy members, youth educators, maintenance workers, grandparents, parents, and students alike. At TBE, we have found that no golden calf could ever bring us closer together than we are. For us, teens, BELY is a place where we can escape the mishegas of our school lives to gather with Jewish friends our age who share common interests. We work hard and we get together a lot to take charge and create our own events. BELY, in its entirety, is a kehilah kedoshah, aiming to improve the world around us. This includes social action, religious awareness, or simply putting a smile on a fellow BELY-ites’ faces. Each member of our youth group is a determined and hard-working teenager who genuinely cares about our temple, about the Jewish people, and about the world as a whole. Even though we may appear as a group of best buds, we are so much more, its unexplainable, and we don’t need a golden calf to prove it. When you ask a BELY member what it is that keeps us coming back, we won’t tell you that we come for the food. We won’t tell you we come solely for religious rituals. We won’t tell you that we come because we have incredible programming, although we do. So, what do we come for? We come back again and again, for dance parties in the youth lounge, eating whatever is in the fridge, sorry if we ate your leftover brownies, bagels or pizza, but hey, now our parents don’t have to cook dinner! We come because we are committed, eager and determined young Jewish adults who truly enjoy spending time here, and enjoy making a difference and benefiting from the community. We come because of the mentors who inspire us, the relationships we build, and the memories that we make. We come because of the community that we love. Shabbat Shalom!